Law & Order follows the fictional cases of a group of police detectives and prosecutors who represent the public in the criminal justice system. Since its September 1990 dbeut, each season features a main cast of six main characters: two detectives and their supervising officer (Law) within the New York City Police Department, alongside two prosecuting district attorneys and the Manhattan District Attorney (Order). The first season followed detectives Max Greevey (George Dzundza) and Mike Logan (Chris Noth), Captain Donald Cragen (Dann Florek), ADAs Ben Stone (Michael Moriarty) and Paul Robinette (Richard Brooks), and District Attorney Adam Schiff (Steven Hill).
The series, with a run of more than 20 seasons to date, is known for its revolving cast, with most of its original having left the show within the first five seasons. The progression of the record for longest serving main cast members of the series is: Jerry Orbach as Det. Lennie Briscoe (1992–2004, 274 episodes), S. Epatha Merkerson as Lt. Anita Van Buren (1993–2010, 390 episodes) and Sam Waterston as EADA/DA Jack McCoy (1994–2010 and 2022–2024, 405 episodes).
Main characters + Law & Order main characters Character Portrayed by Position Seasons 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 M 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 Max Greevey George Dzundza Senior DetectiveSergeant colspan=25 Mike Logan Chris Noth Junior Detective colspan=5 colspan=4 colspan=16 Donald Cragen Dann Florek Captain colspan=3 colspan=4 colspan=4 colspan=10 Ben Stone Michael Moriarty Executive Assistant DA colspan=4 colspan=22 Paul Robinette Richard Brooks Assistant DA colspan=3 colspan=2 colspan=10 colspan=2 colspan=8 Adam Schiff Steven Hill District Attorney colspan=9 colspan=15 Phil Cerreta Paul Sorvino Senior DetectiveSergeant colspan=2 colspan=23 Lennie Briscoe Jerry Orbach Senior Detective colspan=2 colspan=13 colspan=11 Anita Van Buren S. Epatha Merkerson Lieutenant colspan=3 colspan=18 colspan=5 Claire Kincaid Jill Hennessy Assistant DA colspan=3 colspan=3 colspan=20 Jack McCoy Sam Waterston Executive Assistant DAInterim DADA colspan=4 colspan=20 colspan=2 Rey Curtis Benjamin Bratt Junior Detective colspan=5 colspan=5 colspan=10 colspan=5 Jamie Ross Carey Lowell Assistant DA colspan=6 colspan=2 colspan=2 colspan=2 colspan=9 colspan=4 Abbie Carmichael Angie Harmon colspan=8 colspan=2 colspan=14 Ed Green Jesse L. Martin Junior DetectiveSenior Detective colspan=10 colspan=9 colspan=7 Nora Lewin Dianne Wiest Interim District Attorney colspan=11 colspan=2 colspan=13 Serena Southerlyn Elisabeth Röhm Assistant DA colspan=12 colspan=4 colspan=10 Arthur Branch Fred Thompson District Attorney colspan=13 colspan=5 colspan=8 Joe Fontana Dennis Farina Senior Detective colspan=15 colspan=2 colspan=9 Nick Falco Michael Imperioli Junior Detective colspan=15 colspan=9 Alexandra Borgia Annie Parisse Assistant DA colspan=15 colspan=2 colspan=9 Nina Cassady Milena Govich Junior Detective colspan=17 colspan=8 Connie Rubirosa Alana de la Garza Assistant DA colspan=17 colspan=4 colspan=5 Cyrus Lupo Jeremy Sisto Junior DetectiveSenior Detective colspan=18 colspan=3 colspan=5 Michael Cutter Linus Roache Executive Assistant DA colspan=18 colspan=3 colspan=5 Kevin Bernard Anthony Anderson Junior DetectiveSenior Detective colspan=18 colspan=4 colspan=4 Frank Cosgrove Jeffrey Donovan colspan=21 colspan=2 colspan=3 Kate Dixon Camryn Manheim Lieutenant colspan=21 colspan=3 colspan=2 Nolan Price Hugh Dancy Executive Assistant DA colspan=21 colspan=5 Samantha Maroun Odelya Halevi Assistant DA colspan=21 colspan=5 Jalen Shaw Mehcad Brooks Junior Detective colspan=22 colspan=3 Vincent Riley Reid Scott Senior Detective colspan=23 colspan=3 Nicholas Baxter Tony Goldwyn District Attorney colspan=23 colspan=3 Jessica Brady Maura Tierney Lieutenant colspan=24 colspan=2 Theo Walker David Ajala Junior Detective colspan=25 colspan=1
Police Sergeants NamePortrayed byYearEpisodesJunior PartnersNotes Max Greevey George Dzundza 1990–1991 23 Mike Logan Murdered in 1991. Note: The title card for the episode indicates his murder occurred on Friday, April 6, which would mean he was murdered in 1990. Phil Cerreta Paul Sorvino 1991–1992 31 Transferred to a desk job at the 110th Precinct after being shot.
Senior detectives NamePortrayed byYearEpisodesJunior PartnersNotes Lennie Briscoe Jerry Orbach 1992–2004 273 Joe Fontana Dennis Farina 2004–2006 46 Ed Green Jesse L. Martin 2006–2008 198 Cyrus Lupo Jeremy Sisto 2008–2010 63 Kevin BernardTransferred from Intelligence Division (2008). Kevin Bernard Anthony Anderson 2022 60 Frank Cosgrove Frank Cosgrove Jeffrey Donovan 2022–2023 32 Jamie Whelan (2022–2023)
Bobby Reyes (2022–2023) Vincent Riley Reid Scott 2025–present TBD Bobby Reyes (2024–2025)
Jake Griffin (2025–present)
Junior detectives NamePortrayed byYearEpisodesSquad SupervisorsSenior PartnersNotes Mike Logan Chris Noth 1990–1995 111 Max Greevey(1990–1991) Rey Curtis Benjamin Bratt 1995–1999 94 Lennie Briscoe Ed Green Jesse L. Martin 1999–2006 198 Nick Falco Michael Imperioli 2005 5 Joe Fontana Nina Cassidy Milena Govich 2006–2007 22 Ed Green Cyrus Lupo Jeremy Sisto 2008 63 Kevin Bernard Anthony Anderson 2008–2010 51 Cyrus Lupo Frank Cosgrove Jeffrey Donovan 2022 10 Kevin Bernard Jalen Shaw Mehcad Brooks 2022–2024 22 Frank Cosgrove Vincent Riley Reid Scott 2024–present 36 Jalen Shaw Theo Walker David Ajala 2025–present TBD Vincent Riley
Supervising officers NamePortrayed byRankYearEpisodesNotes Donald Cragen Dann Florek Captain 1990–1993 66 Anita Van Buren S. Epatha Merkerson Lieutenant 1993–2010 390 Kate Dixon Camryn Manheim 2022–2024 45 Jessica Brady Maura Tierney 2024–present
Prosecutors Executive Assistant District Attorneys NamePortrayed byYearPartnersEpisodesNotesBenjamin Stone Michael Moriarty 1990–1994 Paul Robinette,Claire Kincaid 88 Jack McCoy Sam Waterston 1994–2007 Claire Kincaid,Jamie Ross,Abbie Carmichael,Serena Southerlyn,Alexandra Borgia,Connie Rubirosa 405 Michael Cutter Linus Roache 2008–2010 Connie Rubirosa 63 Nolan Price Hugh Dancy 2022–present Samantha Maroun TBD
Assistant District Attorneys NamePortrayed byYearPartnersEpisodesNotes Paul Robinette Richard Brooks 1990–1993 Ben Stone 66 Claire Kincaid Jill Hennessy 1993–1996 Ben Stone,Jack McCoy 68 Jamie Ross Carey Lowell 1996–1998 Jack McCoy 48 Abbie Carmichael Angie Harmon 1998–2001 72 Serena Southerlyn Elisabeth Röhm 2001–2005 85 Alexandra Borgia Annie Parisse 2005–2006 34 Connie Rubirosa Alana de la Garza 2006–2010 Jack McCoy,Michael Cutter 85 Samantha Maroun Odelya Halevi 2022–present Nolan Price TBD
In the 1997 season 7 episode "We Like Mike", Caleb Duff is listed as Assistant District Attorney beneath Adam Schiff as District Attorney and John J. McCoy as Executive Assistant District Attorney at the New York County District Attorney's Office, though he never appears on screen.
Manhattan District Attorneys NamePortrayed byTermsEpisodesNotes Alfred Wentworth Roy Thinnes 1988 1 Adam Schiff Steven Hill 1990–2000 228 Nora Lewin Dianne Wiest 2000–2002 48 Arthur Branch Fred Thompson 2002–2007 116 Jack McCoy Sam Waterston 2007–2010, 2022–2024 405 Nicholas Baxter Tony Goldwyn2024–present TBD
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